This thread is about the problem that arises once you become conscious of the fact that you have a lot of options and you feel incapable of narrowing them down to the bare minimum.
Why should they be narrowed down to the bare minimum?
I'm planning to go out and take some photos. My first priority is shooting b&w film with my RF, but I'm also planning to take a small DSLR with a zoom lens 'just in case' the light is good for color... But I also know that I'm taking the DSLR because I might get bored half-way since film makes me concentrate more and be more selective so i'm more likely to get bored with it...
This is something I have always struggled with and its not going to change today, I'll take the DSLR and put up with the weight, because I want that extra option in case I get bored, because I want to be able to shoot for fun as well...
Maybe you take yourself too seriously as an 'artist', as if you're trying too hard to be a 'serious B&W film shooter'. Since you aren't making money at it, I fail to see the point in using a medium that isn't fun, and which appears to entail the risk of being boring. Or, to be more exact, I fail to see the point feeling angst about switching to something else when the serious B&W shooter game is boring you.
This made me think how cool it will be, lets say like HCB to have that discipline and stick with bare minimum and give it all.
Who gives a monkey's about this one camera, one lens philosophy? You evidently don't work that way, but, for some reason, seem to think that you should. Why?
But why I can't do it, its not that difficult. Why this obsession with shooting more and having endless options and having fun rather than concentrating on what I really like and where I get most of my satisfactory shots? Namely RF with B&W film... I'm not shooting for money so why should I carry all the tools in order to not miss the chance...
As Winogrand said, there are no shots when I'm reloading. When your camera is out of commission because you're reloading, don't have it with you, or can't get to it fast enough, there is no shot to be had. You might see a possibility for a shot, but you can't capture every chance. Such is life.
And it does not end there, because all the shots with the DSLR open an almost infinite number of other options as to how I should precess them and depending on my mood etc...
I don't quite see the reason for taking the DSLR - colour film is also quite effective for when the light is good for colour, and scanning the negs/slides surely opens up the same possibilities for processing that the DSLR does. An alternative is to carry a few rolls of colour film, or a second RF body loaded with colour.
Anyway, all these decisions are beginning to weigh me down into a state of indecision... And I'm beginning to get annoyed by it.
What's to decide? Pick a camera and medium, and shoot it. If you get bored or just fancy a change, then pick an alternative and shoot that. Use whatever gets you out of yourself and into the flow.
